Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend a theory of health promoting schools (Markham and Aveyard, 2003) that draws heavily upon Nussbaum's Aristotelian interpretation of good human functioning (Nussbaum, 1990). This theory of health promoting schools proposed that health is grounded in the meeting of identified fundamental human needs and…

This dissertation consists of two chapters that examine the impact of educational and positive youth development programs on students' academic and behavioral outcomes. In the first chapter, I evaluate the effect of the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) program, a school meal provision allowing schools meeting the eligibility requirements to…

This paper documents the endline findings and lessons learned from the "Advancing Learning Outcomes and Transformational Change (ALOT Change) program whose goal was to secure the future of adolescent girls and boys aged 12-19 in two urban informal settlements in urban Nairobi. The purpose of the paper was to explore what were the key endline…

Sexual violence prevention programs are important for addressing sexual violence and are often implemented in local community and university settings. However, program implementer perspectives are often missing from academic research literature, limiting access to practical knowledge that can provide insights to improving programs and prevention.…

This study examines the ethics and politics of knowledge across 15 distinctive community-engaged research projects. We focus our analysis on interviews with community partners and consider their perceptions of research, academic research partners, motivations for partnering, and the benefits and challenges of community-engaged research. We…

Recognizing the need for education that addresses social emotional and mental health issues faced by adults, Extension developed two different types of programs. Michigan State University (MSU) Extension developed the RELAX: Alternatives to Anger program (RELAX) to address anger management, and West Virginia University (WVU) Extension created…

Introduction: In 2014, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded the American Heart Association to implement policy, systems, and environment-focused strategies targeting access to healthy food and beverages, physical activity, and smoke-free environments. Method: To understand factors affecting implementation and variations in success…

Community based programmes for adolescents receiving mental health services have been previously linked with the effective acquisition of knowledge, change in perceptions and attitudes, as well as change in behaviours. This article will detail how the new Teen Life Skills Programme was able to address some of the barriers and equip the…

Coordinated systems are required to ensure evidence-informed practice and evaluation of community-based interventions (CBIs). Knowledge translation and exchange (KTE) strategies show promise, but these require evaluation. This paper describes implementation and evaluation of COOPS, a national KTE platform to support best practice in obesity…

This postscript presents the implementation and evaluation of family and community based intervention programs for children and young people implemented in Norway. The Norwegian experiences and results illustrate how evidence-based programs developed in the U.S. have been transported across geographical and language borders, implemented…

Evaluating initiatives implemented across multiple settings can elucidate how various contextual factors may influence both implementation and outcomes. Understanding context is especially critical when the same program has varying levels of success across settings. We present a framework for evaluating contextual factors affecting an initiative…

Background: Jog Your Mind is a community-based program aiming to enable seniors to maintain their cognitive abilities. It includes stimulating activities, information on aging, mnemonic strategies, and promotion of a healthy lifestyle and is offered over 10 weekly sessions to seniors with no known cognitive impairment. Purpose: This article…

Informing both program evaluation and practice research, this paper describes lessons learned during the planning, implementation, and pilot phases of an abstinence education program based in a rural community in a southern state in the USA. Although a number of challenges can emerge in successfully implementing and evaluating such a program in a…

Universal screening and referral are crucial for maternal, infant, and early childhood home visiting programs to improve maternal, infant, and early childhood outcomes. The purpose of this article is to describe a county-wide, centralized intake and referral system. The authors report results and lessons learned for reducing service duplication…

Assessing program impact can provide useful program evaluation data. It also provides a basis for program development, marketing, and justification. This article discusses recent impact evaluation efforts and findings of a long-time Extension program; referred to as Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E). How such information can be…